With Woodley-Till fight on the horizon, Kamaru Usman eyes fight with Colby Covington

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is now set to defend his title at UFC 228 on September 8 in Dallas. He will not, however, defend it against current interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. Instead, he’s poised to defend his strap against surging British contender Darren Till.

While this Woodley vs. Till fight should be a good one, it’s the manifestation of a very unfortunate turn of events for Colby Covington, who is expected to be stripped of his interim title the moment the UFC 228 welterweight title fight begins.

Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till for welterweight title will headline UFC 228 on Sept. 8 in Dallas, per Dana White. Colby Covington has not been stripped of interim title yet, but he will be the moment Woodley vs. Till begins. Similar situation to UFC 223. https://t.co/Qw6ygV6DsV

The good news is that, while Covington’s shot at the undisputed welterweight title is going to have to wait, it seems he’s got another compelling fight on the horizon.

Shortly after this Woodley vs. Till fight was announced, surging UFC welterweight contender Kamaru Usman began calling for a fight with Covington. Despite his long-standing beef with Covington, Usman apparently considers Covington the true number-one contender, and even sympathizes with him.

This, per Ariel Helwani.

With Colby Covington getting passed up, Kamaru Usman wants to fight Covington next. According to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that’s the fight they are pushing for now. “We feel for Colby,” Abdelaziz said, “but he is the guy we need to fight. He is the true No. 1 contender.”

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